Cultural Inventory

My Culture and Background

            Whenever I tell people where I’m from, they automatically associate it with being the “ghetto”.  I grew up in Tacoma, Washington.  The town that is famous for the Aroma of Tacoma.  Being raised in a town that is culturally diverse, I gained a lot of different experiences and developed a sense of what the real world might be like. 

            At the schools I went to, music and the arts were a huge influence on the students.  Because music and the arts were an important way for students like me to express themselves openly without being judged or ridiculed.  I grew up to learn how important music is in my life, and I think it was not only the influence of my peers and my friends at school, but also through the influence of my family.  Many of my family members find it hard to be expressive and find comfort using music or writing as their only voice.

            My family played a huge part in my cultural background as well.  Both my parents came from large families consisting of four or more siblings.  Family gatherings were always huge and it exposed me to a variety of types of lifestyles.  Because just within my family (both my mom’s side and my dad’s) you can experience every angle of diversity.  From single parenting, to living single, from gay couples to interracial relationships; my family helped me develop an open mind and to see the world for what it is. 

            Of course, for me, it was difficult to figure out where I fit in as far as my family was concerned.  I was neither college-bound nor working class.  After graduating high school I dropped out of college at my first attempt to try working.  After working for a short time, I quit to get married and raise a family of my own.  Even though throughout that time I had earned a certificate in Legal Transcription, I maintained my position as a stay at home mom/Military Wife(Army and Coast Guard), and I’ve worked my way through my second shot at college and working on earning a Bachelor’s degree at UW.  And even within those experiences, I never found a group to belong to.  I never fit in with the other wives and even now I don’t feel like I have a place in a large group of any certain kind of people.  Perhaps it is because I don’t define myself as one type of person or another.  I define myself by what I learn and what I know about people.

            I suppose I try to build myself up from the books I’ve read and the shows I’ve watched.  I’ve always wanted to be that career woman I see in sitcoms like Friends and Coupling (a British sitcom).  I always relate to the women I read in books like “Confessions of a Shopaholic” or my small share of Meg Cabot novels.  And with my background and experiences growing up, perhaps someday I can be one of those characters, only the real deal.